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By Richard Donovan
Byeung Sik Ahn (Korea) won the 2008 North Pole
Marathon which took place at 04:30 GMT on 1st April. The winner of the women's
title was Cathrine Due of Denmark. Constant daylight and -29C temperatures
greeted competitors at the top of the world.
The men's race was a close event over the ititial stages before Ahn's
persistent pressure on the frozen ice floes finally began to reap dividends. He
developed a widening gap over his opponents during the second have of the race
and crossed the line in a winning time of 4:02:37. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian
Ignas Staskevicius overhauled Charles Sanders of Great Britain for second
position. Ahn will receive a special Kobold expedition watch for being the
outright winner.
Cathrine Due and Margit Andersen, the two Danes in the women's event, battled
thoughout. However, Due proved the stronger in the latter stages to take the
women's title. Kirsty Devonport of Great Britain was third.
Unfortunately, unusual logistical delays at the
Pole this season impacted the race field. A five-day wait was caused due to
delays in establishing the North Pole camp and this led to two competitors
having to withdraw before the race began. Furthermore, an effective cut-off time
of seven-and-a-half hours was abruptly forced upon competitors by the logistics
company in order for them to make a return flight to Norway.
Nevertheless, all participants stood at 90 Degrees North, the
precise Geographic North Pole. In addition, the few remaining competitors who
were agonisingly close to completing the 26.2-mile distance have been invited to
attend for free next year. Moreover, the race organisers prefer to have
everybody given a much lengthier time to finish the event if necessary. Next
year is the Centenary of Man reaching the Pole. To register for the race, which
is now expected to occur in early April 2009, see www.npmarathon.com.
The North Pole Marathon is contained in Guinness World Records as the
northernmost marathon on earth. It is also a member of the Association of
International Marathons & Distance Races.
For further details, contact race director Richard Donovan at rd@npmarathon.com. For hi-res photos of the
2008 race, contact the award-winning race photographer, Mike King, at mike@mikekingphoto.com.
Mens Race
|
Name |
Time |
|
| 1. |
Byeung Sik Ahn (Korea) |
4:02:37 |
Bib No. 1 |
| 2. |
Ignas Staskevicius (Lithuania) |
4:19:05 |
Bib No. 25 |
| 3. |
Charles Sanders (Great Britain) |
4:21:27 |
Bib No. 23 |
| 4. |
Jurgen Heilbock (Germany) |
4:50:01 |
Bib No. 17 |
| 5. |
Hans-Wilhelm Hamke (Germany) |
5:21:07 |
Bib No. 14 |
| 6. |
Craig Davis (Australia) |
5:47:50 |
Bib No. 8 |
| 7. |
Darius Jurgaitis (Lithuania) |
5:54:18 |
Bib No. 19 |
| 8. |
Peter Ferris (Ireland) |
6:12:05 |
Bib No. 12 |
| 9. |
Steve Bicknell (Great Britain) |
6:27:10 |
Bib No. 6 |
| 10. |
Christer Klingspor (Sweden) |
7:01:10 |
Bib No. 20 |
| 11. |
Wayne Pollock (Ireland) |
7:10:22 |
Bib No.27 |
| 12. |
Hans-Jacob Berntsen (Norway) |
7:22:08 |
Bib No. 5 |
Womens Race
|
Name |
Time |
|
| 1. |
Cathrine Due (Denmark) |
5:37:14 |
Bib No. 11 |
| 2. |
Margit Andersen (Denmark) |
5:53:10 |
Bib No. 3 |
| 3. |
Kirsty Devonport(Great Britain) |
6:12:05 |
Bib No. 9 |
| 4. |
Alison Gill (Great Britain) |
6:44:08 |
Bib No. 13 |
| 5. |
Marie-Hamren Larsson (Sweden) |
7:04:32 |
Bib No. 16 |
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